This invention relates to an improved carry-out food container, such as that commonly used in the restaurant industry to hold food items prepared for customer pick-up or delivery. Most, if not all, restaurants use carry-out containers to service customers who want to take their food “to-go.” One category of widely-used carry-out containers are foam hinged containers. They are made in different shapes and sizes to accommodate room for sandwiches, hot dogs, dinner meals, etc.
When a carry-out order is prepared, items such as plastic utensils, salt, pepper, ketchup, butter and cracker packs, and bread are usually included. Restaurant employees tend to toss these items in the bag or place them in a separate container. At times, they may even forget to include these items. For a customer, the process of searching to find these items can be inconvenient. There are many cases where they even get lost. To avoid this, there are restaurants that make their employees place the food in the container, cover the food with a sheet of dry wax paper, and place these items over the wax paper. When the customer opens the box, everything he or she needs is right there. The food is kept warmer, and the chances of foreign objects falling in it are decreased. In essence, it further protects the food. Also, the cost of using a separate container to store these items can be saved. In some cases, restaurant employees may use aluminum foil instead of wax paper. However, aluminum foil is not entirely microwave safe, and wax paper is.
Restaurant employees that use wax paper for take-out orders still run into problems. The process of finding the wax paper and making sure it is placed neatly over the food can be time-consuming and inconvenient. At times, a restaurant employee may need to go back and forth throughout the kitchen to find wax paper. He or she may even run out of wax paper and have to go to the stock room to get some more. These become significant problems when the restaurant gets busy. The present invention addresses these problems by providing a carry-out container where the wax paper is already attached. This saves the employee time, and it can save the restaurant wax paper or aluminum foil costs. It can also serve as a way for an employee to pay closer attention to the amount of food that is placed in the container, which can also save costs. Furthermore, it increases the likelihood of an employee making sure that all items that need to come with a take-out order are there. The process of covering the food becomes more effective, and the overall appearance of the carry-out container is enhanced. These factors create a situation where the customer is satisfied and will likely come back. Overall, the invention makes the take-out process more smooth and efficient, and all restaurants can really benefit from it.